Many machines particularly earth moving machines, include ground engaging tools for performing tasks like digging, tilling, ripping, loading, and/or excavation tasks and the like. Such ground engaging tools often include a shovel or scoop with one or more lips with edges on them. If such lips are left unprotected, contact with soil, rock and other materials may damage or wear the edges of the lips. Repairing or replacing the lip of such a ground engaging tool due to wear or damage of the edge may involve significant expense. Accordingly, many ground engaging tools include ground engaging members such as teeth, adaptors, and shrouds which are mounted to the lip to shield the edge of the lip from contact with soil, rock, and other materials.
In most cases such teeth and adaptors were secured to the shovel by some form of wedge-like device. In many cases such wedges were secured in place manually, often by simply hammering. In other cases, various different locks or wedge systems were developed, in which the wedging was effected by means of some form of threaded mechanism. The threaded mechanism, in turn, was operated by hand, or with a wrench.
It will be understood that even the more complex threaded mechanisms for locking the teeth on the adaptors, still had to be accessible from the exterior of the tooth or adaptor or both. This was admitted as a possible cause of problems, due to the harsh environment of alternately moving the shovel into the earth or debris and then removing it again. The teeth and the mechanisms were subject to extreme abrasion and forces operating first to push the teeth on and then pull the teeth off the adaptors and so on.
As and when the teeth have to be replaced, then the shovel would have to be cleaned up to make the removal mechanism accessible. In the event that the locking mechanism had become damaged due to use, then removing such locking mechanism in turn became a problem.
The present invention overcomes these problems concealing the entire locking mechanism within the body of the adaptor and of the tooth, and making the locking mechanism independently responsive to wireless technology from outside the tooth and adaptor.